Jeffrey Williamson, a former Lakewood housing inspector who was a state Assembly candidate in 2007, pleaded guilty on Jan. 28 to charges of extortion under color of official right and subscribing to false tax returns, admitting he accepted a total of approximately $17,500 in corrupt cash payments from a cooperating witness in return for exercising his future official authority in favor of the cooperating witness, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced.
Williamson, 58, of Lakewood, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Chief Judge Garrett E. Brown Jr. to a three-count criminal Information that charges him with one count of extortion under color of official right and two counts of subscribing to a false tax return.
Brown continued Williamson’s release on a $50,000 unsecured bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for May 3.
At his plea hearing, Williamson stated that from as early as April 2007 through July 2009 he served as a housing inspector for Lakewood. In that capacity, Williamson was responsible for, among other things, performing inspections and certifying housing units for compliance with pertinent federal, state, and local standards, codes, regulations and procedures, he admitted.
Williamson admitted that he accepted a total of $17,500 in bribes in regular payments of $1,000 between April 24, 2007, and the last one on July 10, 2009, to provide lenient inspections on rental and other properties owned by the cooperating witness in Lakewood. Williamson also allowed the cooperating witness to illegally use a residence in Lakewood as a commercial office.
Additionally, Williamson admitted that when he signed and filed his individual income tax return for tax years 2007 and 2008, he knew that they were not true and correct.
Williamson admitted that the returns did not include approximately $7,500 in taxable income that he received from the cooperating witness in 2007, and approximately $8,000 in taxable income that he received from the cooperating witness in 2008.
Charles Amon, 33, a former property manager in Lakewood, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan on Dec. 14, 2009, to a one-count criminal Information charging him with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. Amon admitted that from April through May 2007 he arranged meetings between Williamson and the cooperating witness, with the understanding that Williamson would accept corrupt cash payments from the cooperating witnesswith the understanding that Williamson would then perform favorable inspections on Lakewood properties owned by the cooperating witness, according to the press release.
Amon also admitted that he had previously made corrupt cash payments to Williamson to perform lenient housing inspections on Amon’s behalf.
Williamson and Amon’s guilty pleas stem from a two-track undercover FBI investigation into political corruption and international money laundering, which resulted in charges against 44 individuals via criminal complaints on July 23, 2009.
The charge of extortion under color of official right carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of subscribing to a false tax return carries a maximum statutory penalty of three years in prison and a $100,000 fine.